Story Archive

Withholding Judgment

When he filed his 2016 federal tax return, the Internal Revenue Service says, Ramon Christopher Blanchett, 29, of Tampa, Fla., reported he had earned $2,098 from one job, from which no federal tax was withheld, and $17,098 in wages from another job, from which $1,000,000 of federal tax was withheld. The IRS dutifully sent him a refund of exactly $980,000. Blanchett kept the money in the bank and, when he didn’t hear anything by late 2018, bought himself a Lexus sport coupe. By the time the IRS caught up with him, it impounded the Lexus, and $919,251 left in his bank accounts. So far, Blanchett has not been charged with any crime. (RC/Tampa Bay Times) ...Wait: the tax on $18,497 is exactly $20,000? No wonder it’s so hard to stay above the poverty line.